Ahmed kids ‘bullying’ fears

They claimed they acted out of family honour but it wasn’t – it was straightforward murder

a Crown Prosecution Service source

Strict Muslims Iftikhar Ahmed and wife Farzana are two days into life sentences for killing their 17-year-old daughter.

They stuffed a plastic bag into her mouth then dumped her body in a river.

Iftikhar, 52, and Farzana, 49, hated the way Shafilea, their eldest child, had developed a passion for make-up, trendy clothes, high-heels and boys.

As the pair start a minimum 25 years locked away, three of their other four children are said to have made claims about their home life.

Last night a Crown Prosecution Service source said of the parents: “They claimed they acted out of family honour but it wasn’t – it was straightforward murder.

“Their prime fear about being shamed or smeared was actually greater than their love and concerns for their own flesh and blood.”

Shafilea’s sister Alesha, now 24, brother Junyad, 22, and a 16-year-old sister who cannot be named for legal reasons have all detailed claims of their own tortured histories of physical abuse to investigators.

Another sister Mevish, 21, has remained loyal to her parents and refused to link them to her sister’s murder throughout the three-month trial at Chester Crown Court.

A CPS officer revealed that Junyad was “most probably” beaten by his bullying father when he once expressed interest in buying a T-shirt with the logo of heavy metal band Motörhead.

It is also known teachers feared for the children’s safety after they saw them with facial injuries and other signs that they may have been hit.

Shafilea, from Warrington, Cheshire, was suffocated by her parents on September 11, 2003. Her body was discovered in the River Kent in Cumbria in February 2004.

A CPS source revealed yesterday: “The other children, with the exception of Mevish, have co-operated fully and told us an awful lot about their upbringing and the type of regime they lived under.

“It has been hard for them because they were institutionalised. They had their parents’ stern and very strict beliefs fully instilled in them.

“There is every chance that further action against the parents may be taken in the future.

“Sadly, the grim reality is that there could be hundreds and hundreds of potential Shafileas out there.”

Prosecutors have praised sister Alesha for her bravery in testifying against her mum and dad at their trial.

A jury took two days to decide they were both guilty of murder.

Paul Whittaker, head of CPS Mersey-Cheshire, said: “The statement of Alesha Ahmed was crucial to our case and the result is a testament to her courage over the last two years.”